Fountain pen with reservoir changeable and liable to be refilled



March 19, 1957 A. DEL PIERO FOUNTAIN PEN WITH RESERVOIR CHANGEABLE AND LIABLE TO BE REFILLED 2 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed April 24, 1952 INVENTOR. Alberta Del Piero 6L /5AM la-27141 1 VNW s\\\\\\\\ \lli March 19, 1957 A. DEL PIERO FOUNTAIN PEN WITH RESERVOIR CHANGEABLE AND LIABLE TO BE REFILLED 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 24, 1952 INVENTOR.

P N p e o r 11 b United States Patent a FOUNTAIN PEN WITH RESERVOIR CHANGEABLE AND LIABLE TO BE REFILLED Alberto Del Piero, Naples, Italy Application April 24, 1952, Serial No. 284,080

2 Claims. (Cl. 12045.4)

This invention relates to a fountain pen. It is an object of the instant invention to disclose a fountain pen which eliminates the pumping operation and inconveniences arising therefrom.

Another object is to disclose a fountain pen in which at no stage of the pen filling operation will ink come into contact with the external parts of the pen, with the operators hands or with anything surrounding the pen.

An additional object is to disclose a fountain pen in which, by the abolition of the pump which is peculiar to all known fountain pens. The greater space inside the pen holder can be used to increase the size of the reservoir. I

A further object is to disclose a fountain pen which will eliminate any ink leakage due to atmospheric changes during air travel.

Other objects include the disclosure of a fountain pen in which the inner parts of the head carrying the filter and the nib can be washed out, without even a drop of water remaining in the pen, a fountain pen in which the same ink cartridge can be easily removed and refilled from a suitable ink supply, and a fountain pen which in case of emergency the cartridge without removal can be refilled from an ink supply.

Other objects of the instant invention will become apparent in the cause of the following specification.

The principle on which the pen according to the present invention is based is as follows:

Ink is contained in a cartridge which can be easily and directly refilled and replaced. It is a characteristic of said cartridge that it is inserted in the pen in hermetically sealed connection, thus rendering impossible untimely outflow of ink or seepage.

Such a result is obtained by a piercing means which pierces the cap of the cartridge and establishes automatically a passage for a constant and regular flow of ink which cannot be stopped in spite of a checked connection since a feeding fuse, inserted in the piercing means, assures said regular and constant ink flow from the cartridge to the writing point.

A further characteristic of the pen according to the present invention lies in that ink can be recalled from the writing point to the reservoir by means of a resilient cap or a small piston having a very short stroke. Furthermore, said cartridge can be easily refilled, while ensuring a perfect sealing, by means of a suitable container which, like the pen, is provided with a hollow piercing rod; ink being sucked in from said container by inserting the cartridge on said hollow piercing rod and by exerting a slight pressure on a suitable element provided in said cartridge.

The invention will be more easily understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which preferred constructional forms are shown by way of non-limitative example.

- In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an axial section of the pen as a whole;

2,785,656 Patented Mar. 19, 1957 Fig. 2 is a section of a detail on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is an elevational part sectional view of the ink cartridge;

Fig. 4 is a part sectional view of a case carrying the cartridge;

Fig. 5 is a part sectional view of the hollow piercing rod;

Fig. 6 is the feeding fuse;

Fig. 7 shows a diagrammatic view of a different embodiment of the ink cartridge; and

Fig. 8 shows the device for refilling the ink cartridge.

With reference to the figures, the pen comprises a body 6 and a head T fixed to said body and carrying the writing point.

At its lower part body 6 is provided with an external thread, and is provided with piercing means including a hollow piercing rod shown in Fig. 5 which is screwed by means of a thread 8 formed inside a tumbler 9 of said hollow piercing rod.

The ink cartridge (Fig. 3), which can be disengaged, is fixed to the head of the pen by means of a small resilient head 12 carried by said cartridge, through which the keen end 11 of the hollow piercing rod penetrates into the cartridge to the level of holes '11 provided in said hollow rod.

The ink cartridge is also provided with a thread 13' matching thread 16 of the cartridge holder (Fig. 4) and with a cap made of any resilient material, a portion of which extends out of the cartridge, being then housed in an annular groove 8 formed in the external base of the tumbler 9 of the hollow piercing rod.

In side tumbler 9, at the bottom thereof, there is provided a conical bore 19 on which a milled cone 19 of the feeding fuse (Fig. 6) rests when the pen is in a vertical position as shown in Fig. 1.

Said conical bore extends to the tubular part of the hollow piercing rod in such a way as to form a conduit 10' allowing for short axial displacements of two prolongations 18 of the feeding fuse.

The tubular part of the hollow piercing rod ends with a full keen point 11, which slides along a dead hole 12' of resilient head 12, reaching a closure at the bottom thereof, which is easily pierced.

As said above, an annular groove 8' is provided on the external base of the cylindrical tumbler 9 and two holes 11' are provided in the tubular part of the hollow piercing rod, said holes allowing for the passage of the ink from the cartridge to the writing point.

The feeding fuse (Fig. 6) is housed freely in the hollow piercing rod and consists of a cylindrical body having a cone-shaped base slightly milled along its generating lines, said cone 19 being prolonged by two small rods 18 situated one beside the other (like needles) and housed in conduit 10'.

When the pen is in a vertical position (Fig. 1), said rods 18 extend a little beyond holes 11' and their points reach almost the bottom of conduit 10', whereas when the pen is in a position ready for use, the points of said rods reach holes 11', thus assuring a constant flow of ink from the cartridge to the writing point.

The grooves provided in the milled conical part 19 of the feeding fuse are intended to prevent a complete obstruction of conduit it? and at the sametime to throttle as much as possible the ink flow in said conduit, so that, when the pen has to be held in a vertical position in order to recall ink from the head of the pen int-o the cartridge, this can be easily done, as will be better explained hereafter with reference to the operation or" the pen.

The cartridge holder (Fig. 4) consists of a tube serving to guide and to fix the cartridge to the hollow piercing rod; said tube being a little longer than said rod so as to prevent users from coming into contact with the sharp point thereof.

The cartrid e holder is fixed to the hollow piercing means through its upper mouth by means of a set screw 14 and isprovided with an internal thread 1-6, matchjng'the corresponding thread of the cartridge, and with an external one 16' to which is screwed the casing 17, which constitutes the barrel of the pen.

Holes 15 int he cartridge holder are destined either for inspection or for lightening purposes. a

The ink cartridge in Fig. 3 is long lasting because its capacity is equal to the sum of the space which in common fountain pens is destined for the reservoir plus that which is taken up by the pumping device, which is abolished'in the new pen.

Said ink ca'rtridge consists of a reservoir l3 having rigid walls and a resilient prolongation (for instance translucent plastic materials such as cellulose acct-ate), said rigid Walls beingexternally provided w h a thread 13 by which the cartridge is screwed to the cartridge holder and the ensemble to the head T of the pen, thereby pressing the resilient head 12 against the annular groove 8" in such a way as to assure a very tight connection with the hollow piercing rod, hence with the head of the pen T.

In the upper mouth of the cartridge there is provided a housing 13" where the resilient head 12. is engaged by turning down the border of the cartridge upon'a shoulder 12" of head 12; said head consisting of a resilient body (preferably of acid resistant synthetic rubber) the lower part of which has the same diameter as that of housing 13', While the upper part ex ends out of said housing.

To render the engagement of the resilient head even firmer, an iron sheet ring 2% is provided, having also.

the function of preventing splits in the plastic material due to screwing and unscrewing repeatedly the cartridge when it is utilized more than once. I

The resilient head is axially crossed by a dead hole 12' having the same diameter as that of the tubular part of the piercing rod, so that said rod pierces a diaphragm and not a mass. Besides said resilient head rests with its own base on a shoulder 13 carried by the reservoir 13.

To facilitate insertion and removal of the cartridge, the rigid portion thereof extends somewhat out of the cartridge holder .then it continues with elastic walls 21 which in the example consists of a small cap of any elastic material, applied to the cartridge, but can also be constituted by the same walls of the cartridge which, in their lower portion, acquire elastic properties by the efiect of a suitable treatment.

In the example, said cap is fixed to the rigid portion of the cartridge by means of an iron sheet clip 22 grappled in a suitable groove 13 of the ink cartridge; said clip in its lower part being reduced in diameter so as to secure a little along the tree portion of said cap thus obliging.

the operator to exert a pressure on that smallportion of said cap which remains uncovered; only a slight pressure being needed to introduce ink into the head of the pen or recall it into the cartridge, as will be better explained hereafter by reference to the operation of the pen.

For a good operation of the pen it is necessary to create alternately a pressure and a'vacuum in the interior of the cartridge, so that ink may flow from the cartridge into the writing point or viceversa According to the example shown in Fig. 3 such pressure and vacuum inside the cartridge can be obtained through the elastic walls of said cartridge; according to the example shown in Fig. 7 where the rigid walls extend the whole length of the cartridge the alternation of pressure and vacuum is provided by 2. small piston 23 having a very short stroke. Such piston 23, owing to its short stroke, has a quite difierent function from that of the pistons provided in some other pens of commerce, wherein said pistons serve the purpose of pumping in ink from an ink supply and take up a great space in the reservoir;

, Through inspection holes provided in' the Fig. 7 shows the lower end of an ink cartridge 26 closed by a cover 23' through which passes the stem 23 of piston 23, said cover being provided with a stulhng gland to ensure perfect sealing. Piston 23 is displaced to and fro by means of a knob, thus accomplishing the same function as the resilient walls in Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 illustrates an ink container for refilling the ink cartridge according to the present invention. The orig inality of the container as shown in this figure, lies in its cap, which is of conical form and is provided in its central part with a thread on which is screwed a hollow piercing.

rod 24- quite like the one provided in the pen, but for its lower internal part 2 2- which is cone=shaped so as to prolong the conical shape of cup 24 Said. hollow piercing rod mounted on cap 24 is provided, for the sake of convenience, with a guide tube, like the cartridge holder in the pen, serving to hold the car tridge axially centered.

The operation of the pen is as follow-s:

When the first cartridge, already filledwith inkhas to be connected to the pen, the external casing 17 is unscrewed from thread 16' and the cartridge is introduced into the cartridge-holder by pressing the resilient head 12 against the piercing rod with a movement'of citation, in such a way as to completely screw the cart-ridge to its case; after which the external casing 17 is reattached an the pen is ready for use. p I

8h-0uld the ink not flow immediatelyfrom the cartridge to the writing point, it would be sufficient to shake the pen slightly when the feeding fuse will immediately-reestablish the ink flow without nevertheless the pen dripping. 'When the cartridge hasto be removed for changingand refilling, it is necessary that, before pulling it out, the pen be turned to a vertical position with its head up and the ink recalled from said head into the cartridge. by exerting several times a slight pressure on the elastic part. 21 of said cartridge. I

cartridge holder one can readily make sure whether the ink has reentered the cartridge, after which the cartridge'is removed by unscrewing.

As there is no ink left in the head nor in the piercing rod there is no danger of ink dripping or spattering' about at the moment that the cartridge isreintr'oduced into the cartridge holder.

To avoid ink leakages due to atmosp'heric changes during air trave it will be suflicie'nt to recall the ink from the head of the pen into the cartridge by exerting likewise several times a slight pressure against theelastic wall of the cartridge, after which one can safely face flight, with? out any danger of ink leakage.

Washing out the head and its delicate internal parts turns out to be an easy and simple operation; in fact after the cartridge has been removed. It is sulhcient to keep the pen fora few moments under a water faucet, for the scale to be dissolved and expelled from the'oppos'it'e side, after which some air can be blown in, and there is no danger of even a drop of water remaining inthe inner parts of the head. 1 The refilling of the cartridge can be carried out in different ways, but an easy and hermetical refilling can be obtained by means of an ink container especially designed foruse in connection with this pen, as shown in Fig. 8.

The operation is carried out as. followsg'. p Theempty cartridge is inserted in a. guide conduitlfi byexerting an axial'pressure on it, so that the whole piercing rod penetrates into the resilient head 12,.a'fter which the container is capsized and, by exerting several times aslight pressure upon the resilient cap'of the cartridge, ink is sucked infrom said container to" the cartridge, whereafter the ink container is set again up formed quite in the same way if the cartridge is provided with a small piston as in Fig. 7, instead of resilient walls as in Fig. 3.

As said before with reference to the advantages of the pen according to the present invention, in case of emergency the pen can be refilled also by the common method in use, that is by sucking in ink from an ink supply through the elastic part of the ink cartridge, or else by means of the small piston.

It is understood that all variations and constructional modifications of the pen here described fall within the scope of the present patent application, so long as they are based upon the same principles and lead to the same practical results.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed what I claim is:

l. A fountain pen comprising a body with constricted ends, a head removably disposed on one constricted end of said body and axially extended therefrom, a writing point disposed in the extended end of said head, said body and said head having formed therethrough axial openings communicating with said writing point, piercing means for the other constricted end of said body, said means comprising a tumbler removably disposed over the constricted free end of said body and a rod extending axially from said tumbler, said rod being constricted relative to said tumbler, the tumbler having an annular groove therein around the base of the rod, the free end of said rod terminating in a piercing point, said rod further having formed through the end thereof on the side of said body an axially directed opening, the opening at one end flaring outwardly and communicating with the axial opening in said body, the opening of said rod at the opposite end terminating adjacent the piercing point, a needle-like feed element disposed in the opening of said rod, said rod further having formed therethrough two spaced lateral openings adjacent the piercing point and communicating with the axial opening thereof, a cartridge holder removably disposed on said tumbler concentric with said rod, an ink cartridge removably disposed in said cartridge holder, each end of said cartridge being resilient, one of said resilient ends of said cartridge having formed therein a dead end opening communicating with the piercing point, said resilient end of the cartridge having an annular rim adapted sealingly to be received in the annular groove in the tumbler and a barrel concentric with said holder removably disposed on said tumbler.

2. A fountain pen comprising a body with constricted ends, a head removably disposed on one constricted end of said body and axially extended therefrom, a writing point disposed in the extended end of said head, said body and said head having formed therethrough axial openings communicating with said writing point, piercing means for the other constricted end of said body, said means comprising a tumbler removably disposed over the constricted free end of said body, and a rod extending axially from said tumbler, said rod disposed on said tumbler and axially extended therefrom, said rod being constricted relative to said tumbler, the free end of said rod terminating in a piercing point, said rod further having formed through the end thereof on the side or" said body an axially directed opening, the opening at one end flaring outwardly and communicating with the axial opening in said body, the opening of said rod at the opposite end terminating adjacent the piercing point, said rod further having formed therethrough two spaced lateral openings adjacent the piercing point and communicating with the axially extending opening thereof, a feed element disposed in the opening of said rod, said feed element comprising a cone shaped base member seated upon the outwardly flaring end of the axial opening in said rod and two needle-like prolongations disposed on said base member and extended into the axial opening in said rod into adjacency with each one of the two lateral openings, a cartridge holder removably disposed on said tumbler concentric with said rod, an ink cartridge removably disposed in said cartridge holder, each end of said cartridge being resilient, one of said resilient ends of said cartridge having formed therein a dead end opening penetrated by the piercing point, and a barrel concentric with said holder removably disposed on said tumbler.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,808,377 Reichenbach June 2, 1931 1,986,372 Sherman Jan. 1, 1935 2,005,179 Chamberlin June 18, 1935 2,053,892 Beck Sept. 6, 1936 2,061,059 Carlson Nov. 17, 1936 2,517,453 Sweet Aug. 1, 1950 2,629,362 Muench Feb. 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 223,351 Germany June 19, 1910 16,731 Great Britain 1912 25,912 France Mar. 1, 1923 53,340 France Jan. 22, 1945 422,157 Italy June 11, 1947 

